Renewable raw materials such as sugar and its derivatives are attractive feedstock sources for potential use in the production of commodity chemicals because they are relatively abundant and cheap. Most of these materials are water soluble and can be processed in aqueous solutions. These natural materials contain a lot of oxygen which needs to be eliminated during processing. Usually it can be done by catalytic hydrogenation which removes extra oxygen in the form of water. Long term catalyst stability is a necessity for commodity chemical production, meaning that the catalyst must be stable, productive, and selective under commercial reaction conditions for long periods of time.
One of the cheapest and most available catalysts for this kind of treatment is metal supported on a mineral carrier, which can be used in fixed bed applications. However, catalysts supported on mineral carriers have low stability in aqueous media due to slow support dissolution. A need, therefore, exists for new materials that can be commercially produced and that are stable in applications requiring use in an aqueous environment. Such materials would be useful in catalytic applications, as well as other applications requiring long term use under aqueous conditions.